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Monday, April 12, 2010

From Chicago, home of Garrett's (Chicago mix!) Popcorn, it's Sunday Sound Out starring your host, the woman who rode the L for the first time in her life, Dawn Meehan.

Parents of tweens, check out the new articles (including mine) on the Don't Fret the Sweat site! Parenting tweens today is hard. Get all the help you can with informative articles here, and join in the discussion! DON'T FRET THE SWEAT

Did any of your kids refuse to sleep in their own bed and throw a fit to sleep in yours? If so how did you deal with it?Brooklyn did. I dealt with it by letting her sleep in my bed every night for 3 1/2 years being calm and consistent, sticking to my guns, putting my foot down, and insisting she sleep in her own bed. Honestly, there's some great bedtime help on the Goodnites site HERE. There's helpful information about bedwetting, and also tips on creating bedtime routines, helping your kids have the confidence to stay in their beds throughout the night, and enjoying bedtime rituals with your children. You can also download and/or listen to the Iggy Bedtime Theater stories with your kids. (You won't want to claw your ears off while listening to these with your kids either! I promise they're entertaining for adults as well!) And you can join me for the next bedtime chat on Gather.com April 14 from 8-9PM Central Time.

But is it just me, or is Brooklyn's the same picture as before?It's just you.

Totally weird question I know... But I was wondering, could you post what colors each of your kids uses for the Easter Egg Hunt? Just out of curiosity, lol. That really is a weird question. ;) Austin finds blue eggs, Savannah finds purple, Jackson finds the green ones, Lexi finds pink, Clay finds orange, and Brooklyn finds yellow eggs.

So basically what you are saying is that Austin is just like you?[ the bad comments on my report cards]Except that I had a little higher aspirations than he does. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up. Go ahead! Ask him! I'll tell you his answer! He wants to be a hobo! Yep, a hobo. He doesn't even know what a hobo is!

What about first grade? You must have been an angel in first grade, right? A good teacher that could see your real potential?I was a total angel in first grade and I had the best teacher ever! I still remember her - Miss Heater. She had Duso the Dolphin. Anyone remember him? "Hey Duso, come on out!" You gotta love friendly dolphin puppets and the slightly creepy songs that accompanied them back in the 70s, right? Please tell me that at least one person knows what I'm talking about here. I tend to wander off-topic now and then, by the way. Did any of my report cards mention that little tidbit?

completely unrelated, although i know my report cards looked like that too - with a lot of 'doesn't complete work on time' and 'spends too much time daydreaming'... but i have to say that my daughter is very disappointed that you changed your pictures. she loved austin's old picture and anytime she saw that i was on your blog, she immediately said, 'i want to see the boy with the blue tongue!' haha! AND smooth on the absence of the 30 something (and lack of replacement mentioning of age)! ;) I was going to put that picture here for you, but then you had to go and mention my advanced age! Grrrr! OK, I'll be nice anyway. Here ya go...

I started following your blog about 7 months ago. Right after I read 'Because I said so!' (Loved it by the way!) Can't wait for your new one..SSO? When is it supposed to be coming out? I am dying to read it.Good question. I'm not exactly sure, but it's supposed to be coming out this fall. I'll get back to you with an exact date when I have one. And THANK YOU for reading my book and taking the time to tell me you liked it. :D

Nothing to do with this post (sorry - SSO?)but are you still using the neti-pot thing you mentioned ages ago? I too find the idea of pouring salt water up my nose revolting/terrifying but I have yet another cold & would like to rediscover breathing...Yes, breathing is one of my favorite pastimes. I don't use the neti pot regularly, but I do use it if I have a cold. Don't worry, I promise to never make a video of me using it.

Did you share these [my report cards] with Austin? He might have a better outlook about the whole school thing if he sees that you had your moments, too. Plus, being able to laugh at mom is always fun.Oh, he doesn't need any more reasons to laugh at me! And showing him my report cards will only make him say, "See? Why should I try harder? You didn't and you're doing pretty well for yourself, don't you think?"

Might sound like a really dumb question, but is the address sufficient if i was to send a get well card from Australia??? I know a dumb vegemite eating Aussie question!Not a dumb question at all! Just use:Savannah Meehan836 S. Arlington Heights Rd.#230Elk Grove Village, IL 60007USAif you want to send a card to Savannah. She's scheduled for surgery next week.

Dawn, do you sometimes wonder what this year is meant to be about? Is it meant to teach us out here in voyeur land something? You something? Is it just crap because crap eventually comes around to everyone eventually? Although you are getting an extremely unfair amount of crap lately.Do you ever ask "WHY? After everything else WHY??" Cause if I was you I sure would.Thinking of you all and hoping that whatever the reason for the crap it has decided enough is enough and leaves your lives.Hmmm, I actually don't wonder or think that at all. In fact, I think I have it pretty good. I've never (knock on wood) had anything really bad happen. I figure God's got it under control, so why should I worry about silly little things.

SSO; I would love to know what kind of laundry detergent you use? With 6 kids I bet you do a ton of laundry! I only have 4 and I do about 3-4 loads a day. I can't keep up!OK, honestly, I used to use Target brand detergent, but I recently did a review of Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean. I was paid to try it out and write about my experiences. I figured when that bottle was gone, I'd go back to my Target detergent. But that Arm & Hammer stuff is really good! It has a fresh, clean smell and it really gets out those nastified stains, so I've recently switched to Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean. But don't worry, I buy it at Target. (Don't want to hurt Target's feelings.)

SSO: Could you give us newly single moms some advice on how to make it work money wise? I would love to know how you do it now with 6 kids. I have 3 and its hard doing this alone. Are you a stay-at-home-mom still? Thanks for any advice.Well, I'm newly single myself and trying to figure out how it's going to work. I think it's important to distinguish between wants and needs and teach your kids this lesson too. You may not have as much discretionary income as before so extras like going out to eat, buying things on a whim, vacations, going out to the movies, etc. may have to be cut back or done away with. That's not to say you can't have any fun. Instead of taking the family out to a movie which can be really costly, rent a movie at Red Box for $1 or check it out for free from your local library, for example.Accept hand-me-downs (even seek them out!) and shop resale stores for your kids' clothes.Do a clean-sweep of your house and have a garage sale or eBay those things that are just taking up space in your home. You'll clean and organize your house while making some money.Cook at home. You can save a ton if you skip the restaurants and drive-thrus in favor of eating at home.Call your utilities and see if you qualify for a discount based on your income.Drop unnecessary things. Maybe it's cable tv, or magazine or newspaper delivery. Maybe it's your monthly manicure or your child's violin lessons that they hate and want to quit anyway.Create a budget. You probably had to do this when filling out divorce paperwork anyway. It's good to see on paper just where your money is going.Make mutually beneficial friendships! Maybe your friend can fix things around your house or drive your son to hockey practice. In return, maybe you can fix their computer or mow their lawn. Don't be afraid to ask for help, but return the favor when you can.Hmmm, I guess I had more ideas than I thought I did. Anyone who has other ideas, feel free to chime in and share your wisdom!

I just googled something ridiculous (looking for an exact Bill Cosby quote) and your blog was the first thing on the list. It made me laugh really hard! So when you see "so i went upstairs to my bed which is where i wanted to be in the first place" I have explained myself and deserve credit. ;) And for future reference, the exact quote I was looking for is "And my wife sent me to me room... which is where I wanted to go in the first place." (I was pretty close.)I did see that search phrase in my stat counter! Although I didn't think twice about it since the one right after yours was, "Jesus woke up my mom to feed the baby".

Whew! What a relief it will be when Austin can drive!Relief. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Not apprehension, fear, nightmare, horror. Nope. Relief.

Forgot to mention the other day. Happy one year anniversary on the release of your first book. What is the proposed release date of book two? Eagerly awaiting number two.Thanks, Sandy! Wow, it has been a year! Time has FLOWN by!

Do the other set of grandparent's get to see the kids? And how was your Easter?Easter was good. My parents see my kids. My inlaws never did see them much, so nothing's really changed there.

I also have a question about leaving a question for you for Sunday Sound Out. I tried last week sometime to write a brilliant and probably the most witty and inspiring question through your "Get in Touch" button and somehow it got lost in cyberspace. (I can compliment myself multiple times since it didn't go through you see! lol)So my question now is...is it a problem for others since you said you had a lack of new questions...or is it just techno-challenged me?Ummm, ???

Does Lexi watch iCarly? Or Drake and Josh? Or does she just like Miranda Cosgrove?Yes, yes, yes.

he [Joe]might have a terminal illness and that is why is doing what he is doing to save the kids greiveSorry, but this is ludicrous. What Joe has is not terminal. And even if that was the case, a parent who abandons their kids before dying is not going to save them grief in any way, shape, or form.

I swear (but I try not to), some people must give their kids ice cream out of the container in order to have a peaceful conversation on the phone. If that were me, the ice cream would be all over the house and them! You are so down to earth and normal. Thank you for letting me know that I am not alone in my parenting adventure.Oh, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of times I let my kids have whatever they want to buy a couple quiet minutes on the phone. "You want a fruit snack? Sure, take the whole box! You want a giant candy bar ten minutes before dinner? No problem, have two! You want a pony? You got it!"

Don't forget to check out my Arm & Hammer review HERE and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a $200 Visa gift card.

And check out the Pop-Tarts post HERE to be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

being single, out of work and a non-involved father so he doesn't pay support a few things I do

along with eating at home, make a menu and a grocery list. I've created my own form - menus for the week on one side and grocery list (in categories so I'm not wandering around the store aimlessly) on the other. some people make menus by category but that just makes me go huh? how do you know what you need to buy for ingredients if it just says chicken?!

dollar theatres. my son is young but we've gone a couple times...he's pretty good and since we are in utah there are always tons of kids there...one who is worse then him wandering up the aisles...

freeze portion sizes. less seems to get wasted.

sam's club. I only buy what really saves me money but their veggies are super cheap - a bag of salad for the week, cheap diapers, etc.

the library is our friend.

and check out fun things to do - I read newspapers and keep updated online, I find a ton of free thigns to do with my son and we have memberships (he's free at most) at most of the fun things - zoo, aquarium, aviary - around here. we bring drinks and snacks and so I've paid 18 bucks a year for a membership, if we go every week that's a smokin' deal. lots of them also give deals if you are a member somewhere else. here every few months there are free days at all of those places (of course they are mobbed then but at least youre getting out of the house).

I love SSO!! You crack me up with your wit and quick answers. Well, they might not be quick cuz you have time to ponder them, but they seem quick to me. :) I'm wondering if, or what blogs do you read on a regular or semi regular basis? Do you even have the time?? :)

Dawn- sorry to hear about your seperation. My sister went through the same thing well kinda. She and my brother in law had seperated she asked him to come back home he turned her down so she moved on. He was not so much involved with the kids to begin with, more of a alcoholic that always wanted to go to his dad's house and drink all day or have his brothers, dad and friends over to drink all night. So she finally just left. My brother in law fought hard for custody of the girls and finally once he realized my sister was not going back he called the lawyers and said never mind I dont want them. Even though he is supposed to get the kids certain weekends holidays etc he always has a reason (mainly his new squeeze at the moment) as to why he cant get them. He keeps his phone off or doesnt answer their calls. So although I dont completely understand b/c i'm not in the situation myself I've got a pretty good idea. Just hang in there you will definately make it through this. Then you will be just that much stronger. The only other thing I can think of is at first we tried to sugar coat why my BIL was ignoring the kids only to have it backfire on us. They eventually started to believe we juwst didnt want them to go see him. So just watch it closely you never know what's going on in the minds of the kiddos.

Ooo speaking of buying things or getting hand me downs - BUMC is having a summer clothing only rummage sale this Fri and Sat starting at 9am. This is BARRINGTON hand me downs, a whole new step up, and they do it super cheap. I'll be there once I get my peanut on the bus :) Join me if you need anything? I can send you the link if needed....

And wow am I entertained by some of the things people ask you. I love it. Oh, and love the updated pics - you look sharp!

Are you not drying and straightening your hair now since so many people complimented you on it?

Dawn, I have not been reading regularly lately, so I did not realize what was going on with you and Joe. Just wanted to say how sorry I am. I pray everything works out for you and your children. You are a wonderful, wonderful mother (not to mention a fabulous writer!).

I do remember Duso. I hated that stupid dolphin, probably because of the dopey voice that my kindergarten teacher used for it. I remember looking at her and thinking "You're not fooling anybody, we all know it's you talking and not the puppet."Wow, until today, I had completely forgotten about the whole thing.